Crimson Flame
by AngelClara
Summary: Ever heard of the Soulmate Principle? Well, for a gang of Circle Daybreakers.....it's about to kick in.........R/R
1. Chapter 1:Welcome to Nightworld

**Nightworld 10**

Crimson Flames

Spencer Esprit was didn't like school. Like every other teenager in existence, the thought of school made her grumble about the lack of morals, education and intelligence of her fellow peers. But what made school the worst for her was her lack of visibility. The feeling that she was insigifigant and was only part of a "group" because of the fact that she was monogamous....but without the marriage factor. All in all, most the time she felt like the ugly duckling. But as we all know, life must go on and we all have to attend school. She gazed at the road leading away from the school longingly. 'Just one more day' she mentally begged, but her wishes weren't appeased. She turned and walked past the school gate. She listened to the odd chatter of the students and frowned. There was so many voices, so many thoughts wizzing by, sometimes she wished she could hear them and other times she knew that she probably didn't want to know those thoughts. She continued in her tangent, unaware of anything. Something jabbed at her mind and she glanced up quickly and remained frozen by a pair of golden eyes. From the moment she saw those eyes she knew that she was in big trouble.

'God I hate doing this everyday' Jordan Kage thought to herself. 'Going to school during the day, pretending to be a normal teenager, then going out at night and fighting THEM.' THEM was bloodsucking monsters, also known as vampires. That was just part of Jordan's secret. A secret that was forbbiden for humans to know about, some did know about the things that existed in the dark, in the Nightworld, consisting of werewolves, witches, vampires and shapeshifters, it was true. But if the whole human race knew...there would be a mass genocide, and it would be the humans who didn't fare well. But that was her secret....she was a shapeshifer. She slayed the bloodsuckers that prowled her town. She was Jaws, the arctic fox and this was her territory.

Jordan saw her best friend Spencer Esprit (S pree) in front of her. She ran up to Spencer and wrapped her hands over Spencer's eyes. "Guess who?" Spencer who'd been staring at the golden eyes grabbed Jordan's small hands and quickly turned. She cocked an eyebrow. "The Cookie Monster?" she quipped. "Smart Ass" Jordan grumbled good naturedly. "Well if I'm the cookie monster, I guess I'll have to EAT my cookie!" she yelled and lunged for Spencer, well at her hair at least. Spencer's hair was the colour of melted chocolate and reminded you of something sweet and innocent. With her flashing hazel eyes and her soft ohohoh laugh she could sometimes be quite endearing. Other times... Spencer opened her mouth and let out a loud, peircing mock scream. Jordan winced, for such an introvert, Spencer could sure scream loud. Jordan was about to tell her to shut up when she sensed something. She glanced up and saw two pairs of eyes peering down at her. One pair was gold with a silvery grey mist shrouding them, the other was a bright sapphire. The gold eyes seemed to narrow sharply. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

Jordan's eyes flickered to the guy's hand. He was wearing a ring with a black flower on it. The insignia of the Nightworld. It was an Iris. That meant he was a Lamia. The Lamia were vampires born that way, not turned. She looked at the other guy's hand. He had a ring too. It was a Dahlia. She started, that was the witches flower. Male witches were quite rare. "Who the hell are you?" The goldened eyed lamia asked again. In answer Jordan inclined her head slightly towards her wrist. She was wearing a braclet with her flower, the foxglove, on it. She saw their eyes widen. Spencer seeming oblivious clicked her fingers in front of Jordan's face. "Hey Jaws, snap out of it! We've got to get to class" Jordan shook her head. She'd talk to the lamia and witch later. For now.....she had history.

Jordan and Spencer walked out of their last class for the day. Jordan sighed, she hadn't seen either the Lamia or the Witch all day. Someone whistled shrilly from behind her. Everyone spun around. It was the 2 Nightworlders. They sauntered up to Spencer and Jordan. The Lamia's eyes wandered over each of them, observing. In the hallway the four seemed quite strange. The Witch's eyes sparkled with knowledge. He had a noble nose with a pair of rectangled black framed glasses perched on the end. His hair was red and messy, like he hadn't bothered to brush his hair that morning. The Lamia's eyes looked hungry. They held the fierce look of a predator. His mouth was dark red whilst he's skin was paler than anyone elses. His hair was midnight black and gave a bluish hue. Jordan's eyes were sea bottle green and glittered. Her hair was a white blond colour that reached her shoulder blades. Her mouth was pale pink and across her nose was a dusting of freckles. It was Spencer that made the party seem that much stranger however. Her hair was like chocolate and flicked up at the ends under her chin. Her eyes were hazel and shimmered with the force of her soul. Her nose was tiny like a button. But what was so strange about her was her waftiness. If one blinked, it seemed she's dissapear like a pixie. Sometimes people swore that they saw her dissapear, or things had gone through her. But they were only illusions. Jordan even thought that. Not even the power of invisibility or being intangible existed in the Nightworld. "Hey, um, girl with the braclet, can we talk to you for a minute?" Spencer looked at her wrists. Obviously not refering to her, she wasn't wearing a braclet. "I'll just leave you guys for a while" she said quietly. She turned and walked off, throwing a longing look at the Lamia as she left.

"So what are your names anyway?" Jordan asked placing her hands on her hips. "I know that you are a vampire-lamia to be exact, and you are a male witch-probably a Harman, since you're so friendly with the Redfern Clan...." She glanced and the Lamia, the Redfern's were the only clan of Lamia's that she knew of, so she hoped her assumption was right. The witch smiled, it was so friendly, Jordan wanted to melt. "Well, I'm Pyrus, Harman as you guessed and that is Salix Redfern" Salix's gold eyes flickered. "Who was the other one?" Jordan's eyes widened. "That was.....um......just, she's not one of us.......she's..." and Jordan cringed. 'Forgive me Spencer' she begged mentally. "....she's vermin" Salix inhaled sharply. "We don't use that term, we're C.D." Jordan's eyes dilated and she looked at them more closely. "Oh, of course" she muttered. Pyrus' red hair alerted Spencer to their whereabouts. She'd been wandering away, sure she'd promised she'd go.... but that didn't mean she hadn't fully intended to eavesdrop from the very beginning. But Salix wasn't an ordinary being. He could hear her a mile away. "Hello" he said without turning. "What do you want?" Spencer suddenly looked contrite. "Um.....I was wondering if you were done?"

Jordan glances up at Spencer with wide eyes. 'Uh oh' she thought. 'Spencer you moron' Salix rammed her into a wall. "How much did you hear?" Spencer's eyes opened wide. "You mean about the vermin and people not saying vermin because they're C.D's? Why would Compact disks be talking about vermin?" Salix's grip on her shoulder's lightened. Pyrus coughed loudly. "Um, hello" He greeted Spencer. "Don't mind Salix here, he's a bit paranoid." Salix shot Pyrus a dark glare. Jordan giggled helplessly. Spencer in turn glared at Jordan. It wasn't exactly fun to be pinned to the wall by a tall, gorgeous black haired hunk. 'I take that back' Spencer thought.


	2. Chapter 2: Just a bite, a small taste

**An:**I forgot to mention this before but this is a joint story written by Nicat68 (Nic) and myself (Clayre) Hope you enjoy

Salix finally relented and releases Spencer from the wall. His cold eyes searched hers. "I'm sorry" Spencer blushed. "That's okay.....just, um,try not to slam people into walls, it's not a very welcoming sign" Salix hesitated then nodded firmly. "Yes, I apologise." Pyrus gave Jordan a look. Jordan smiled, she understood completly. It _was_ funny to see a 1000 year olf vampire apologising to a 17 year old girl for slamming her into a wall. "So," Pyrus said giving Jordan a meaning ful look. "We'll meet up later?" Salix and Jordan caught on. They nodded. Salix moved away from Spencer and joined a small circle with Jordan and Pyrus. Spencer frowned, hurt. She was used to being ignored, but something hurt her this time. Something had changed. She smiled wistfully and wandered off down the corridor. "See ya some other time....." she whispered. Salix heard her and turned slightly. Frowning. "Yeah, some other time" he whispered back. Spencer didn't hear him.

"So, Jordan, will you come hunting with us?" Pyrus asked. Jordan bit her lip. 'Hunting with _daybreakers_?' She decided to give it a try. "Okay, what _are_ we hunting?" she questioned. "There's a couple of rogue 'wolves that have been hunting people" Salix said detached from the true body of the conversation. Jordan groaned inwardly. 'Daybreakers,' she thought angrily. 'Always thinking that they need to kill anything that harms humans, werewolves need to kill to live.' She sighed as an odd rumbling shot from her stomach. "Look, I'll help hunt, but I've got to go hunt" Pyrus looked at her in alarm while Salix watched amused. "You don't....you know....?" Pyrus demanded. "God no!" Jordan exclaimed. "My _best_ friend is a human! I couldn't hunt them after she became my friend...it just seemed so wrong. I only hunt animals to eat and I only eat animals when I need tons of energy" Pyrus looked relieved and gave her his warmest smile. Jordan's knees wobbled but she smiled back. "I also need to feed." Salix said in a monotone voice. Pyrus nodded. "Fine, we'll meet here in an hour." Pyrus commanded. 'It was obvious that he's the leader' Jordan thought. Then she saw Salix's eyes flare. 'Maybe not' she thought stunned. "Lets hunt" he said.

Spencer sat on the park swings. She liked to come here when the thought of being invisiable became too much to bear. She sighed softly and rocked back and forth. She watched the sun set and let her eyes flutter close. Sometimes she felt as if she was so old. As old as time, or at least the beginning of man. "It's not good to stay out after dark" Spencer jumped and fell off the swing. She gave a shriek as she prepared to hit the ground. Instead she found herself sitting in Salix's arms. "N-nice r-reflexes" she stuttered. He looked faintly amused. She blushed and jumped off him. "Sorry" she said looking at the ground. He shrugged. "I never did learn your name" He stated. Spencer looked up wide eyed. "Oh, I'm Spencer, Spencer Esprit" He smirked. "Steward? Why did your parents name you after such a...it just doesn't suit you." Spencer blushed. "Well it's a long story....Spencer isn't my _real_ name. My real name is Maura." Salix's eyes widened in shock.

"It started in Kindergarten, I had this rainbow coloured spencer. Jordan tells me that I've always been very quiet and shy, no one ever knew what to call me. The only thing that anyone knew was that I wore a rainbow spencer so thats how I got my name.Spencer....it just stuck" Salix's mouth twitched. "Cute" he declared. Spencer smiled lopsidedly. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked. Salix's eyes darkened. Spencer watched mystified as his eyes silvered. Then she watched horrified as his teeth grew longer. "S-salix?" she asked in a minute whisper. He looked up ashamed. "I'm sorry Maura, I know I did this once a long time ago, but I have to do it again." He moved quickly towards her and dug his fingers into her arms. She bit her lip and it started to bleed. He watched transfixed by the blood.

Slowly he licked it. Spencer felt something go off insider her. Something she'd never felt.

It was soothing and scary. She didn't want to use the metaphor of two droplets merging into one, she didn't want to cheapen the feeling. But that's how she felt. She could see him. All that was him and all he knew. She shuddered as the new term "Nightworld" became something to be feared. 'Not again!!!!!!!" he heard him mentally scream. "I won't!!!!!!" she could hear it echoing around the park. He pulled away angrily and sunk his teeth into her throat.

She felt explosions go off inside her and he drank. She could feel him using her and it _hurt_. She collapsed against him and gasped for breath. She could see things. All his thoughts that went through her. 'Old souls, Maura my saint. 5th Century. Come back. Don't kill, save her. Wipe her memories' His fangs shrunk and he lapped at the blood on her neck. "I'm sorry" he said. She could hear the anguish, the raw agony in his voice. She stroked his head. "Shhhh, Salix, that was a long time ago. I've changed, I'm not the saint you cried for, but you still own my soul." She smoothed his brow. He looked into her eyes. "Forgive me" he whispered and she passed out.


	3. Chapter 3: Hauntings of the past, meet t...

Jordan tensed. Her prey was scared. Her whiskers twitched as she sniffed, inhaling the sweet fear. However, a new smell invaded her senses. She growled angrily and shifted back to her human self. "You scared away my prey" Jordan turned, only to see Pyrus' guilty face. "Sorry" he apologised. "I didn't know you were an Artic Fox, I would have thought you'd be a water animal, you know, because Jordan means flowing water." Jordan smiled grimly. "Last name, it means shadow" Pyrus clicked his tongue. "Of course, Japanese"

Jordan nodded. "So what are you doing here, and where's your friend Salix?" Pyrus looked slightly alarmed. "You haven't seen him? He was supposed to meet us here." Jordan sighed. "Hang on, I'll trace him" She shifted again. Fur sprouted from her skin. She pushed her feet deep into the earth as they changed into giant paws. "Beautiful" Pyrus breathed.

Jordan ignored him and sniff. White mist puffed from her mouth as she exhaled. It was very cold. She gave a planitive howl and shifted back. "Salix was here, so was Spencer and I smell Spencer's blood." Pyrus' eyes bulged. "But he wouldn't, he doesn't eat humans, not since....wait...." He gasped loudly. "Is her real name Spencer?" she asked urgently. Jordan would have laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness of this situation. "No, her real name is Maura Esprit" Pyrus shrank into himself.

"Then we must hurry, he may have already killed her" Jordan morphed and became Jaws, the fiercest shifter, more perilous than "The Cat". "She'd better be alive, for his sake" she growled.

Salix looked at Spencer saddly. His emotion changed to hate. "My weakness" he spat. "How I wish I could kill you" Spencer stirred. She was lying on a soft bed of grass. Salix softened. "I killed you before you know. That first time, they declared you a saint, fallen to a demon. When fear of god was still strong, they called you Maura, holder of the immortal grail, merciful and innocent.You were even known in the Nightworld as The Elusive. None of their assasins could touch you. None but me."

_** Flashback**_

Maura skipped down the cobblestone pathway. She hummed some music, composed by her grandfather. Her long brown locks shone under the moonlight and her green eyes sparked with what men called the Forever Fire. "Miss Spirit?" a soft voice asked. Maura turned and flashed a sweet smile. "Maya! Sister!" She flung her arms around her step sister. "When dear sister did you reach Glenbrocke and within the fortnight? I t'would think you're a ghost to fly so fast there and back." Maya's teeth lengthened. "Oh dear sister" she sneered. ":You know I'm no ghost, that's you" Maura's eyes widened. "Sister?" Maya patted Maura's hair.

"I'm not an assasin like the rest dear, but surely you knew about them? About us? You're the oldest sweet sister" Maya's grip on Maura's hair tightened. "But then you knew that too. But shall I tell you something that you don't know?" Maya yanked Maura closer. Maura cried, tears streaked her cheeks but she didn't say a word. "I took your soulmate before you did." Maura's face paled. "No" she whispered. Maya grinned. "Yes, Sister" she spat. "He's mine now." Maura shut her eyes and screamed in agnoy. "Mine!He was mine! The only thing that will ever be mine till the end!" Maya pulled Maura's neck closer. Her teeth wavered over her neck then suck them in.

But her teeth didn't sink into anything. Maura was intangiable. Nothing could hurt her at the moment. Maya hissed. "You may not let me kill you, but....maybe he will" Maya fled. Maura stayed still. She fell to her knees exhausted. She couldn't stay intangiable for very long. She heard footsteps. "So, you're Maura? Maya said you'd be easy prey" She felt him lunge for her neck.

She felt his teeth and then his hunger. She knew that this was him. Her soulmate. She knew he felt it too. But he still denied. Still he drank. Her body became flimsy. Her breath shallow.

'If I kill him, I kill my hope and happiness for the future.' she thought saddly. She struggled to breathe. "I'll see you again" she whispered into his ear. Then placed her head on his shoulder and died.

He pulled away. "Maura?" he frowned. Then the flashbacks happened. He saw his childhood, before Maya came. He lived in the tribe. There was a girl his age. Named Laura. She played and danced and showed him kindness. Then the enemy tribe attacked. Laura was killed. She took a single poisoned arrow to her shoulder and died 2 days later. Salix pulled at Maura's corset. Yes, it was there. The single star shape of that arrow. He felt sick. He'd killed her. "I'll wait" he whimpered to her. Then cried his first blood tears.

_** End Flashback**_

Salix brushed his memories aside. "Why'd you have to choose to take the form of a human? Why? When you could manifest yourself into anyone? A queen, a dragon a _lamia_!" He knelt down beside Spencer's small body. Her body flickered for a minute then started to convulse, sending bright beams of holy light out. It seemed to rise out of her and form something else.

"Hello, Salix" the light echoed. Salix watched transfixed. "Maura" he uttered in awe. The light beamed and started to glow fiercley. "Yes" It started to swirl creating the "true" Maura's face. Long brown curly hair and bright green eyes. "I have chosen this, I have chosen this person because she is my decendant,my blood. She's not _just_ any mortal, she's special. I am her past, future and present, I am her and she is me. Beware, she's the key for the lock. If he gets her/us.......No Wild Power can save you"


End file.
